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6 ways employees can keep their health goals on track

It’s hard to believe we’re already well into 2016 — and while 45% of us have made New Year’s resolutions, only 8% of us will actually keep them, according to some estimates. When it comes to your employee wellness program, helping your employees stay the course after the New Year resolution hype fades is just as important as engaging them in the first place.

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Here are six creative ways to get your employees moving throughout 2016 — and help them keep their healthy resolutions.

1. We gotta bingo! Try launching a bingo-style program to create awareness about your employee wellness program and jumpstart participation in activities around well-being, stress, fitness, volunteerism and more. Over six weeks, your employees will complete tasks on their bingo card that are designed to help them boost their well-being — such as limiting screen time, taking stretch breaks and walking more. When they complete the activity squares, they earn their right to shout an invigorating “Bingo!!!” and have a strong start to the new year.

2. Serve as a tour guide. Inspire your employees to travel the world — and avoid the subsequent jet lag — using a passport-style health challenge. Employees will complete tasks designed to get them out of their comfort zones and learn more wellness program offerings — such as attending a new group fitness class and discovering wellness tools and resources on the website. Stamp the passport book for each activity employees complete.

3. Express group classes. If it’s crunch time at your workplace and your employees are on tight deadlines (and let’s be honest; when isn’t that the case?), they may perceive they do not have time for fitness or workplace wellness. To solve this barrier, offer two short, 20-minute classes during the lunch hour — instead of one, 45-minute class — to help your time-crunched employees find time for fitness.

4. Invent a new acronym. Try something new in 2016 and give employees a fresh start. Create a new program using an acronym from a wellness term. For example, launch a program called NEW START that focuses on total well-being that features weekly emails with health tips, information and challenges. Empower employees to complete healthy tasks around topics that represent the NEW START acronym: nutrition, exercise, water, sleep, transformation, awareness, rest and training.

5. Partner power. While losing weight is a common resolution each year, encourage your employees to participate in a weight loss challenge with a buddy for extra support. Employee partners can motivate each other as they complete eight weekly challenges around fitness, cardio and strength activities.

6. Host an open house. To reach your employees throughout the day, host a week-long open house where employees can learn about your wellness program, explore your corporate fitness center, participate in classes and discover wellness programs and resources. For extra incentive, sponsor a raffle for free fitness center memberships and personal training sessions.

Any of these approaches are sure to keep your employees moving throughout the year. Before too long, it will be time for all of us — and our employees — to focus on yearly health goals all over again. Except this time, ideally, we’ll be much further along the path to healthy living.

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Health maintenance and prevention Wellness programs Outcomes-based wellness incentives
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